The journey to Tanjung Puting continues.

We arrive on the klotok around dusk as we motor on down the river on the sides of the banks the palms were decorated with fire flies they even flew onto our boat where Kyle held one glowing in his hand. Saw fireflies on the edges of the river. We sleep on the deck of the boat after dinner on our carpet –Indonesian style, under a mosquito net. The sounds of the put-put of the boat is exchanged for the sound of the jungle. It is almost full moon it was warm when we go to bed and as the night goes on we are cold. I wish I’d brought a blanket! Tomorrow night I’ll wear my jeans and long sleeve top to bed!!

Banana pancakes, eggs, mango, banana, and water melon breakfast yum.

Now to see the orangutans – we stop at two sites for the feeding all the klotoks are bunched up together at the landing area. You need to walk across boats to get to the landing or people are walking across yours.

Camp Leakey is the most comprehensive of the the feeding stations as it has an information centre, a variety of animals near the rangers quarters – wild pigs a gibbon cats and oranghutans who don’t want to be bothered with the feeding platform about ¾ kilometre away.

The orangutans are used to this daily ritual of feeding at the platform, the rangers and guides call to let them know that bananas and milk is a happening thing on the deck. It is amazing seeing orangutans so close they move from tree to tree – it sounds like crashing in the treetops.

One tetchy orangutan played scare the tourist. Had our group worried it then divided our group and then chased me Sharon and Kyle for a short way into the jungle. Both Sharon and I tripped over. This orangutan Siswi came with a reputation, bitten five tourists in one year!! I was thinking I would be tourist number six!!! With help we got onto main track but it was an adrenaline rush as well as being downright scary.

On the way back Thomas spots a crocodile – no one swims in the river because of them and they are unusual to see.

Going to Suryabaya

We leave ‘pagi-pagi’ from Denpasar airport and arrive in Surabaya – big city in East Java. It is a huge port we take a charter taxi into the city. First to Kalimas a river port where most of the large wooden cargo boats that go between Sulawesi, Kalimantan and some of the other eastern islands depart from. Then it is to the Samporna cigarette factory. It is a tourist attraction in Suryabaya. It is a huge city but it is not known as a major tourist city. There is a beautiful display of all memorabilia about cigarettes as well as the history of the building and family. Upstairs is a shop and viewing platform of the factory. Mainly women are seated in red and yellow uniforms hand rolling cigarettes, trimming them and packaging. The speed is incredible. How does one relax after rolling 325 cigarettes an hour after an eight hour day!!!! So with over three hundred people working in this particular factory one of many making that many cigarettes an hour how many cigarettes are being smoked!!!

Then it is off to have lunch. We go to a local hot spot for ‘Lontong Balap’ a vegetarian soup with sprouts and tofu as well as solid cooked rice with young coconut. You know a place is good when you see a busy place.

A famous mosque in Surabaya is Sunan Ampel it is situated in the Arab section of the town and that was out last destination on our whirlwind tour the city. There are tiny lanes leading to the mosque all filled with small shops selling toys, Arabic and mosque clothes, henna, perfumes in shiny bottles cakes and dates many from the middle east. We were not wearing clothes appropriate for the mosque so we did not enter. Kelsey needed to go to the toilet so Sharon her mother asked if she may use the toilet in the information booth. Sharon came out wearing a sarong and head scarf to accompany Kelsey to the toilet. They both went into the area where women and girls prepare for the mosque. The mosque is a beautiful a large colonial building with huge wooden shutters, many doors and a beautiful polished floor. I would recommend bringing/buying some clothes that would allow you to enter.

Back to the airport and to Kalimantan Pangalabun and meet Bu Arfa and her family. A quick taxi ride from the airport and we are on a ‘Klotok’ (Kapal air- wooden boat).

29 July

Bedugul one of the food bowl areas of Bali, on a round about there is this huge cement sweetcorn husk with all the – about 2 meters tall resplendent in yellow and green. There is lots of food grown around here, broccoli, strawberries, as well flowers – orchids. At the Botanical Gardens in Bedugul there is a tourist attraction called Tree top adventures. A Flying fox through the trees sounded like fun. That sounded good until you realise you have to put a harness on with clips etc.  Everyone looks as if they are wearing a nappy!! When you are high up on platforms and walking on steel cables you are very grateful of ‘the nappy’. I had to face my fears of heights and my lack of co-ordination was exposed.

It cost US$21 and in rupiah it was 199,500. That was Rosie and Leah on the black course - too extreme for me.

On the way to Bedugul we stopped at one of the coffee houses where you can sample Bali Coffee, Civat Cat Coffee - coffee Lubak and chocolate. The next photo is of cacao fruit that is ripe. The taste of the fruit outside the seeds is like a mangostein with a probable chocolate edge. The seeds you cannot eat and need to be fermented/curing before they are used as chocolate. 

The blessing of the cars 

On the 29^th was a busy day for cars. In Bali there is a special ceremony for all things made of metal – that includes cars and motorbikes. All the ‘cuci mobil’ shops for washing cars and motorbikes had lots of business the day before. In the morning the cars are blessed prayed over and decorated. The decorations are made of palm leaf and placed on the front of the car and motorbikes.

Back in Bali

I am back in Indonesia again- very lucky.

it’s warm

Arrived three days ago. It is warm. In a room with a fan on it gets too warm by the morning! It is hard to remember it is cold at home!!!

Walking along the beach – you could walk forever and it seems we did trying to find our way back to the main road. All we could find was a small laneway that went through villas and ricefields. Every year more buildings are covering the rice fields– like Australia our best land for growing things is going to be under concrete or destroyed by other development.

There is no more the green revolution it is the concrete and steel revolution.

Nasi Campur (rice with a mix)  10k (Rp10,000) for lunch check out the picture the exchange rate is about Rp9,400 to one dollar. How much was my meal?

Our meals aren’t all that price but you could survive well on $20 a day if you were not travelling much and eating local food.

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